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At a look
Skilled’s Score
Professionals
21 portsTwo Thunderbolt 4 chipsUp to 4 6K shows at 60Hz2.5 gigabit ethernet
Our Verdict
Packing extra ports than any equal docking station, the iVanky FusionDock Max 1’s twin Thunderbolt 4 chips mark it other than the competitors with not simply extra however sooner connections.
Worth When Reviewed
$549.99
Greatest Costs At this time: iVANKY FusionDock Max 1
$439.99
Within the Mac docking station battle for essentially the most and quickest ports, we’ve got a brand new winner: the iVanky FusionDock Max 1, which boasts 21 prime ports and the power to help as much as 4 6K exterior shows.
These options could also be excessive for most individuals, however this dock is aimed on the skilled finish of the market. And, look away now Mac Intel and Home windows customers–it’s M-series MacBooks solely.
The FusionDock Max 1 has two video ports and 4 downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports. Different docks play with simply 4 Thunderbolt ports: one upstream Thunderbolt port that connects to the host (normally a MacBook) after which both three downstream TB4 ports or two downstream TB4 and a video port.
The FusionDock Max 1 has so many Thunderbolt ports as a result of it has one thing (or issues) no different dock possesses: twin built-in Thunderbolt 4 chips. Each different Thunderbolt dock we’ve examined has only one such chip–see our roundup of the most effective docking stations for Mac. Packing two Thunderbolt chips offers the FusionDock Max 1 the power to double up on video-capable ports. With two Thunderbolt connections coming from the MacBook through a particular iVanky twin cable to the double-chip dock, it has twice the choices: selecting one video port and two TB4 ports per Thunderbolt connection.
The obvious use of such connectivity energy is the power to help a number of exterior shows. With the appropriate MacBook, you’ll be able to hook as much as 4 high-resolution screens.
Specs and options
The iVanky FusionDock Max 1 has a copious 21 ports, essentially the most we’ve ever seen on a Thunderbolt docking station.
Two upstream Thunderbolt 4 port (40Gbps, 96W)
4 downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports (40Gbps, 15W)
Two HDMI 2.0 video ports
Six USB-A ports (10Gbps, 7.5W)
Two USB-C ports (10Gbps, one at 30W, one at 7.5W)
2.5 gigabit ethernet
UHS-II SD card reader (312MBps)
UHS-II MicroSD card reader (312MBps)
3.5mm combo Audio jack (entrance)
3.5mm Audio out jack (again)
Optical Audio
180W energy provide
Later, we’ll go into extra element on the show choices out there, however the different supplied ports are additionally spectacular. Even should you hook up with 4 shows from the dock, you’ll have spare Thunderbolt 4 ports–except you go for the final word 4 6K screens, all from the dock, which is able to go away you only one spare downstream TB4 port in your MacBook.
To make the most of its twin Thunderbolt 4 chips, you need to deplete two of your Mac’s TB4 ports and two of the upstream ports on the dock.
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The video ports are listed as HDMI 2.0 however the truth is, are of the a lot greater specification HDMI 2.1. iVanky humbly masks this as a result of Apple’s personal show limitations imply that HDMI 2.1’s advantages are restricted from docking stations–that’s not the case with Home windows which helps Multi-Stream Transport. Apple does help dual-screen MST via a Thunderbolt 4 chip, and the precept of this dock is to realize dual-screen MST plus dual-screen MST via two Thunderbolt 4 chips, thus enabling four-screen unbiased show.
The dock’s two upstream Thunderbolt 4 ports can ship as much as 96W of energy to the primary host MacBook. That’s sufficient to maintain a 16-inch MacBook Professional up and working whereas related.
Apart from the video ports, you received’t discover extra downstream Thunderbolt ports on every other dock. Every is rated at 40Gbps and may ship 15W of energy to related units.
There are additionally two 10Gbps USB-C ports, and one can output 30W, sufficient to quick cost your iPhone and even cost a separate 13-inch MacBook Air. The opposite USB-C port expenses at 7.5W.
Older units aren’t forgotten with the dock packing six 10Gbps USB-A ports–certainly greater than sufficient of this legacy port for many customers. Every can cost units at 7.5W.
Absolutely loaded, the sturdy 180W energy provide can theoretically deal with all of the ports at full cost: 96W + 30W + 7x 7.5W = 178.5W. We anticipate that the dock itself requires a few of that cost, but it surely’s definitely true that this dock can energy a number of related units at an honest output.
If you wish to join your MacBook to a wired community, this dock options an ethernet port that may ship 2.5Gb reasonably than the extra commonplace 1Gb bandwidth. You’ll should be related to a supported quick community to realize the profit however it’s backwards appropriate and may function in sooner networks at its most 2.5Gb. Even should you don’t but have such a quick wired community, having this contemporary community port offers you some extent of future-proofing should you later improve.
If you wish to add reasonably priced moveable storage, the FusionDock Max 1 options two card readers: one SD and one MicroSD. Each are rated UHS-II, so supply quick 312MBps knowledge switch. Some docks are restricted to 104Mbps UHS-I. Having these means you’ll be able to add big quantities of storage at very low prices, with even 1TB playing cards priced beneath $100 on the time of writing.
From an audio perspective, there are two ports of curiosity. There’s a regular 3.5mm combo In/Out jack on the entrance of the dock. There’s one other audio-out solely 3.5mm jack on the again, plus an Optical Audio Toslink port. Optical hyperlinks, which use fiber optic know-how to transmit digital audio indicators, may be useful for connecting older sound techniques or linking units like soundbars to TVs.
Connecting as much as 4 exterior shows to a Mac
To connect with 4 exterior shows, you have to use a MacBook Professional with an M1, M2, or M3 Max processor. The important thing phrase there may be “Max.” A MacBook with an M1/M2/M3 Professional can help solely two screens. You want a Max to get your Macs to the max.
iVanky recommends you keep away from utilizing greater than two video ports “on the similar stage,” which suggests it’s best to join two through every of the dock’s Thunderbolt chips. This is because of attainable bandwidth limitations; ports on the identical stage share the identical Thunderbolt 4 bandwidth, and using 4 high-resolution shows without delay may overwhelm it. Every Thunderbolt 4 chip hosts one HDMI interface, so you can use each of these and two of the back-mounted TB4 ports.
Apple’s restrictions signifies that the HDMI ports on a dock are restricted to a most 4K. So to get 4 6K shows you’ll want to make use of all 4 downstream TB4 ports: two from the again of the dock and two from the entrance.
You don’t should personal a Fusion Dock to get 4 shows from a MacBook. Any Professional with M1/M2/M3 Max can help as much as 4 exterior 4K shows at 60Hz, even and not using a dock: three shows with 6K decision at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one with as much as 4K decision at 144Hz over HDMI. That can deplete all of the MacBook’s ports, although, so utilizing a docking station is smart. When you want 4 shows, you might be prone to need to join extra units and doubtless hook as much as a quick wired community.
Alternatively, you can use a less expensive Thunderbolt 4 docking station for 2 of the shows, plus two direct connections through the Thunderbolt 4 and HDMI ports in your MacBook Professional. Solely utilizing the FusionDock, nonetheless, will get your 4 6K shows at 60Hz, and also you’ll also have a spare TB4 port on the MacBook.
Right here we’ve got related two 4K shows through the ivanky FusionDock Max 1, however with the appropriate Mac you’ll be able to hook as much as 4.
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Design
With so many ports , you’d anticipate the FusionDock Max 1 to be chunky, but it surely’s as compact as rival docking stations. With warmth dissipation as a core goal, it nearly floats in its aluminum shell. It definitely feels strong but it surely’s not a brick–however its 180W energy provide definitely is. The dock itself seems cool, and likewise feels cool to the contact straight out of the field.
It connects to your MacBook with the equipped 0.7m Twin USB-C Cable. The twin cable takes up two of your MacBook’s Thunderbolt ports, notably two positioned subsequent to one another subsequent to the MagSafe charging port. You have to use this to make the most of the twin Thunderbolt chips within the dock. You possibly can use a regular Thunderbolt cable, however you’d lose the advantage of these additional Thunderbolt ports.
MagSafe can be utilized to maintain the MacBook charged with out having to attract energy from the dock, if it’s worthwhile to–say, if you wish to fast-charge a 16-inch MacBook Professional utilizing 140W.
One concern about this twin USB-C setup is that if Apple determined to switch the port structure in a future MacBook. Apple has been very uniform on this positioning over many new MacBook iterations, so this actually isn’t a priority.
Utilizing this dock creates a good quantity of cabling, however you’re paying for a technical tremendous dock, not a cable organizer.
Worth
There’s no getting away from it, the iVanky FusionDock Max 1 shouldn’t be low-cost. A product isn’t costly whether it is priced on specs that match your necessities, however $500 for a docking station might be out of attain for many people. That’s wonderful as you’ll solely be lusting after one among these in case your necessities are very excessive: particularly 4 high-resolution exterior shows. For that, you’ll already be the proprietor of a $3,000 MacBook Professional with an M1/M2/M3 Max processor.
To get essentially the most out of your beast of a MacBook, you want a beast of a docking station.
Verdict
Packing extra ports than any equal docking station, the FusionDock Max 1’s twin Thunderbolt 4 chips mark it other than the competitors with not simply extra however sooner connections.
For individuals who want three or 4 high-resolution exterior shows, that is your final dock if you wish to preserve some spare ports in your (most likely M3 Max) MacBook.
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